Ciaran McNulty

A decent Monday puzzle with a couple of weakish cryptic definitions.  I guess it’s hard to come up with ‘easy’ CDs! Across 1. TWENTY. 2 + 0. 4. BASEBALL. BASE + BALL. 9. … Read more >>

I found this a bit of a slog today, though admittedly that may be due to the work Christmas party I was at last night.  Aracuaria managed to work in a few little … Read more >>

I’ve had a run of Araucaria recently, and was hit by a pang of fear when I saw how many clues referred to 11ac today.  However, once that clue fell I relaxed as … Read more >>

A cracking effort from Araucaria, that left me scratching my head for most of my lunchtime today. There’s often debate about what sort of knowledge is acceptable to assume on the part of … Read more >>

Perhaps aided by a bit more sleep than normal, I found this fairly quick-going but with a few unsatisfying clues. Across 1. IRATE. 1 + R. + A ‘TE’. 4. INDICATE. 1ACTEDIN*. Odd … Read more >>

Across 8. MAKE LOVE. M(AKEL(a))OVE. 9. PRISE. “PRIZE”. 10. FISH. (thie)FISH(opeless). 11. BANANA SKIN. BA(NANA)SKIN. Baskin Robbins is a chain of ice cream sellers. 12. STABLE. double def. 14. CHIPMUNK. CHIP + “MONK”.  … Read more >>

An interesting theme today, I quite like having unclued elements when it’s clear which clues they apply to!  The old crossword staple of flower=river is used to good effect too. Across 1. SIDESHOW. … Read more >>

An interesting Paul puzzle today with some tricks up its sleeve. Across 1. WARM-UP.  WAR(MU)P.  Mu is a greek character, so used in the Cyclades. 5. ERRANTRY. E.R. + RAN + TRY. 9. … Read more >>

An exemplary Monday puzzle – no odd constructions but still enough to exercise the grey matter on the commute. Across 8. ON THE HOP. double definition 9. SPEARS. S.(PEAR)S. 10. TEMPTS. TE(MP)ST*. 11. … Read more >>

An interesting Araucaria today, the clues not being particularly fiendish in their construction but requiring a fairly wide vocabulary (or perhaps today just happened to hit the weak spots in my knowledge). Across … Read more >>

Quite a challenge today, mainly due to the problems with getting started in such an interlocking grid.  Once 15dn was cracked the rest became easier, however. Across 7. SCARLET. A reference to Will … Read more >>

A well constructed puzzle but sadly not enough meat to keep one occupied for the whole bank holiday – good job I’d not yet tackled the Observer. Not much to say really, some … Read more >>

A very entertaining theme for this prize crossword, and nicely hidden in the relevant surface(s). My only real problem was an explanation for 28ac Across 1. VASECTOMY. V(ery) + A SEC + TOM … Read more >>

OK I have to admit defeat today – I really enjoyed the novelty of the elaborately long down clues but ended up unable to explain 16ac or completely nail 7dn. Across 8. SPACEMAN. … Read more >>

This is just the level of difficulty I like on a Thursday – hard to crack into, but ultimately yielding its solutions with some persistence and nothing feeling ‘unfair’. Across 9. GASTROPUB. BUG< … Read more >>